Kingston Philosophy Café

A talk by by Roger Jennings

“I'm free to do what I want any old time...I'm free to choose what I please any old time…”

In their 1965 song I’m Free, the Rolling Stones might exaggerate the extent of their freedom but we all agree (don’t we?) that, within limits, we can and do choose and act freely (regarding, for example, what we drink and say at the Kingston Philosophy Café). At the same time, however, we are confronted by the seemingly deterministic world of particle physics and probabilistic world of quantum mechanics, neither of which appears to allow for ‘top-down’ causation by conscious agents in the form of humans and other animals. Roger Jennings will examine the apparent conflicts involved and suggest that they arise, at least in part, from the confused nature of many of the concepts with which we conventionally operate (including those relating to ‘mind’, ‘matter’, ‘causation’ and physical ‘laws’). He will refer to a variety of sources including two recent publications:

Helen Steward. A Metaphysics for Freedom. Oxford University Press, 2012

Julian Baggini. Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will. Granta, 2015